IK Multimedia Announces T-RackS 5

A new version of the mixing and mastering modular system for Mac/PC 15/09/17

Buying Choices

IK Multimedia has announced T-RackS 5, which they describe as a cutting-edge mixing and mastering system for Mac and PC. It will be available in October 2017 and is now open for pre-order. Here's the story in IK Multimedia's own words...

T-RackS 5 is the most powerful mix and master modular system ever, offering maximum versatility with 4 all-new processors for a total of 38 high-quality modules on a flexible 16 processor series/parallel chain, an unrivalled audio engine, a complete broadcast-ready professional metering section, a new completely redesigned, resizable interface as well as an album assembly section with multi-format export.

IK Multimedia created T-RackS in 1999, and has been leading the way, evolving and expanding the collection while setting an industry standard and crafting some of the world's best sounding plug-ins for professional applications. It's no coincidence that thousands of top-charting records have been made using T-RackS. Now T-RackS 5 has been re-mastered to be more powerful than ever before providing everything necessary to take raw mixes to a perfect finished product ready for digital delivery or CD printing.

A growing collectionIn T-RackS 5 there are now 38 incredible modules to choose from to build the perfect studio setup including 4 all-new additions to the collection:

The Master Match module is a new type of plug-in that automatically matches the sound of a mix with up to 3 other reference tracks using highly sophisticated algorithms. Thanks to this new powerful module, it's easy to create great sounding masters without the need for any previous audio engineering experience or specialized skills.

Based on an iconic American coveted piece of hardware, the new Dyna-Mu vari-mu compressor/limiter is praised for its subtle but instantly recognizable sonic fingerprint. Thanks to its transformers and all-tube modelled heart, it can impart an audible magic which glues all the parts of a mix together.

The new EQual digital equalizer is a 10-band, ultra-clear, high-end parametric equalizer with an extremely transparent sound, a full-screen resizable interface for ultra-precise editing and a vast array of filter shapes that replicate the typical curves of legendary British and American analog EQ's. This "hybrid monster" offers the best of both worlds: digital precision with ultra-detailed editing and on-demand analog character.

Conceived as an "all-in-one" solution, the new ONE mastering processor has been designed for easy, streamlined and straightforward audio finalization. It includes an EQ, compressor, analog harmonic exciter, low-end enhancer and limiter that will let anyone achieve professional quality results in a snap.

Work with flexibilityT-RackS 5 offers the freedom and flexibility to optimize the mixing and mastering setup with 3 working environments:

The standalone suite makes T-RackS 5 a complete, self-contained, one-stop mixing and mastering workstation that allows users to load a set of audio tracks and perform several operations.

The plug-in suite provides nearly all the standalone mode features within the environment of a DAW as the most powerful channel strip or mastering chain available today as a plug-in.

All T-RackS processors (including metering) can also be used as single plug-ins in any compatible DAW for multi-track mixing and stereo mastering duties.

New streamlined, resizable interfaceThe all-new graphic user interface is designed to control everything from a single window, smoother and faster than ever. Plus, it's fully resizable, meaning it can utilize up to the full size of a display. The new flexible chain view allows the modules to be dropped into the 16-processor series/parallel signal chain at will directly from the sidebar carousel showing all T-RackS available modules.Audiophile-grade audio engineMore sonically powerful than ever, T-RackS 5 now supports audio up to 192kHz / 32 bit floating point, with mastering for high-definition music platforms and distribution without ever leaving its single interface, including 4 dithering options to choose from. The internal resampling engine delivers nothing less than best-in-class performance including DDM (Digital Delivery Mastering) on the output from the final limiting stage, offering an additional layer of protection against inter-sample peaks and overshoots.

Broadcast-ready meteringT-RackS 5 includes a comprehensive suite of metering tools that provide immediate and complete visual information about the audio material content. The new precision loudness LUFS meter is compliant with all leading professional reference standards for music delivery or broadcasting. Peak, RMS and Dynamic Range meters provide useful information about the dynamic response of mixes. The spectrogram, real-time analyser, phase and correlation meters also help to spot frequency imbalances and phase problems. M/S meters included gather information about the relations between the mono and the stereo content. Additionally, T-RackS 5's new metering section can be launched as a separate floating window.Album assemblyNow it's possible to assemble a full-length production directly within the T-RackS 5 interface and create an album sequence with suitable track metadata including pauses, fades, track ID's, ISRC codes, CD-Text and more, then export single high quality master audio files or the whole project in various formats such as WAV, AIF and standard DDP image for replication or Wav Cue files.

Pricing and Availability:T-RackS 5 is expected to ship in October 2017, and will be available in both free and paid versions.

T-RackS 5 can be pre-ordered now at special introductory pricing of only $/€99.99 for T-RackS 5, $/€199.99 for T-RackS 5 Deluxe, $/€329.99 for T-RackS 5 MAX and $/€ 199.99 for T-RackS 5 MAX crossgrade (with any registered IK product $/€99.99 and up).